Oakland: Mayor Schaaf wins, Councilman Abel Guillen concedes

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Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf arrives to her campaign headquarters as supporters cheer in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 6: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, left, dances with a supporter from Chicago who goes by the artistic name of B.Bandz during election night at her campaign headquarters in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 6: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf arrives to her campaign headquarters in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 6: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf arrives to her campaign headquarters as supporters cheer in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 6: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, right, talks with supporter Jackie Phillips, left, and her mother Barbara Schaaf during election night at her campaign headquarters in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 6: Former Oakland City cpuncilmember Ignacio de la Fuente, left, shows photos on his cell phone to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, center, supporter Heather Hood during election night at her campaign headquarters in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 6: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf addresses the media after arriving at her campaign headquarters in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 6: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf arrives to her campaign headquarters in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Schaaf is running for re-election and if she wins she will be the first mayor re-elected since Jerry Brown who served two terms from 1999 to 2007. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

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OAKLAND — Libby Schaaf has won a second term as mayor of Oakland, the first city leader to do so in more than a decade, according to Tuesday’s election results.

With all precincts reporting, Schaaf carried 56 percent of the vote, securing the seat as the first second-term mayor since Jerry Brown won in 2002. Activist Cat Brooks finished second with 23 percent and civil rights attorney Pamela Price got nearly 13 percent. None of the other seven challengers came close.

In 2014, Schaaf defied election polls by defeating incumbent Mayor Jean Quan and Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. Despite facing a trying first term, which included the tragic and deadly Ghost Ship fire, a police sexual misconduct scandal, and the Raiders deciding to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, Schaaf said voters indicated they want stability. She said she would work with all new council members and dedicate her second term to the region’s housing and affordability crisis.

“It will be good for Oakland, good for the organization,” Schaaf said. “It’s very humbling. Oakland is a feisty city and it doesn’t always like authority.”

As Schaaf cruised to victory, Oakland Councilman Abel Guillen conceded he lost and Councilwoman Desley Brooks was also defeated. One council incumbent losing a seat is significant, and two is historic. A sitting council member losing hasn’t happened in more than a decade.

“The fact that two incumbents could lose in Oakland is significant. Incumbents rarely lose in local elections,” Oakland-based political consultant Jim Ross said. He noted that the council races had better opponents than the mayor’s race. “I think it’s an indication of the dissatisfaction people in Oakland feel.”

OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 06: Oakland mayoral candidate Cat Brooks speaks during an election-night party as results are watched on a big screen at the Red Bay Coffee Roastery in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Council races

Guillen, a first term councilman, lost to challenger Nikki Fortunato Bas, a community organizer and advocate, in what had been a neck-and-neck contest. Fortunato Bas had 51 percent of first place votes, which like Schaaf, did not require the counting of other votes under ranked-choice voting.

“The voters have spoken and I respect their decision,” Guillen posted. “While this is not the outcome that I hoped for, I will continue my work to serve the city I love in a different capacity. I congratulate the Councilmember-elect and wish her and our city the best.”

District 2 includes the neighborhoods around Lake Merritt and Chinatown.

The anti-incumbent wave also hit District 6, Brooks’ elected seat since 2002. Loren Taylor, a biomedical engineer and management consultant, unseated Brooks, the controversial and outspoken councilwoman historically well-liked by her constituents in the neighborhoods of Millsmont, Seminary, Melrose, Eastmont and Arroyo Viejo.

Brooks’ challengers had said they want to restore civility on the council after Brooks made made headlines this year for costing the city millions in a lawsuit filed against her by former Black Panther Leader Elaine Brown.

Intrigue has swirled around City Council races in District 4. Campbell Washington’s decision to not seek a second term opened the door for a newcomer. Sheng Thao, chief of staff to Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, had an edge over Pam Harris, an accountant and bookkeeper for nonprofits. Thao had 33 percent of the vote to Harris’ 26 percent. Even though he abruptly dropped out less than a month ago, citing unspecified personal reasons Schaaf-backed Charlie Michelson got 14 percent of the vote.

Former City Auditor Courtney Ruby appeared headed back to her old job, with a large lead over incumbent Brenda Roberts, who won election four years ago when Ruby ran for mayor and lost. Ruby won 62 percent of the vote. Alameda County election officials posted final results at 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Vacant land tax measure

Measure W, a proposed tax on vacant land and buildings in Oakland needing a two-thirds majority, passed with 68.6 percent. The measure would tax vacant lots — defined as being used less than 50 days a year — a maximum of $6,000 per parcel and unoccupied condominiums at a maximum of $3,000 per parcel. Most of the funds would be used for affordable housing, helping the homeless or soon-to-be homeless and other social services. City officials estimate it would generate between $6.5 million and $10.5 million a year. It expires after 20 years.